Smart Tax Tips for College Students

Here are some tax tips for college students:

1. File your tax return: Most of the students work part time and are not required to file the return. But remember no matter how small your income is, always fill a return form and submit the form within the due date. You may get some amount which you can use for your studies.
2. Get some expert advice: Taking advice from expert help you to solve many of your queries related to the tax liability and tax return. Take a break of few days from your studies and work. Talk to your friends. Talk to your parents or a lawyer for the suggestions.
3. Calculate your earnings and find out how much you can file for return. Recheck it number of times before filling the numbers in the form.
4. Read the information on IRS site. There are other community volunteer sits as well where you can find all the information related to the tax laws and the investment plans to save tax. Search these sites and collect all the relevant information that you can.
5. Start as early as possible. More near to the filing date more chaotic it gets. Besides this you also find it difficult to gather information related to all your queries. You can save yourself from waiting in those long queues if you start with the process from much earlier date before the deadline.
6. Extend some donation to charity. You not only earn blessings but also use the donation receipt to file your tax return.
7. If you have a child then you can invest for his education and claim for tax deduction. The investment under the plan is tax exempt till you use the income on education of your child.
8. If you are going on work with all your equipments and tools then you can claim for deduction on these tools and equipments which you carry from your place to your work.
9. If you are residing in one state and studying in other state then you have tax liability for both the states. Find out about this situation.
10. Take the benefit of tax credit: select one among the hope credit, lifetime learning credit and higher education expense deduction. Hope credit give you maximum of $1500 and this applies for first two years of college fees. Lifetime learning credit gives you $2000 credit on your education. Higher education deduction gives you a saving of up to $4000 and is extended to the families with gross income of $130000.
11. Make sure that your tuition fees was not give from 529 account as in this situation you cannot claim for education deduction or credit.